I jumped out of bed, gave a good stretch and headed to the shower to start my day. It wouldn’t be a great start if I didn’t spend a little time with God. So after getting ready, I headed outside to enjoy the back yard of the place I was staying. I just sat there in awe of how amazing God is, and as the wind pipes were blowing a beautiful tune and the sun shining through the trees, I stared out into the field and was lost for words.
What do you want to teach me today God? I just waited and prayed for people before jumping into reading the bible. As I opened it up, there was a rugged dirty 18 year old cat that looked like anytime he would just fall over and die. He was almost repulsive and I didn’t want to pet him because I would get my hands dirty. So I was just hoping that the cat would just stay away and not come over, but all of a sudden I felt something rub up against my leg. I looked down and noticed it was this cat rubbing his dirty fur all over me. So I got up and drop kicked it across the pool. (No, just kidding) I didn’t want to harm the cat, so I just lifted my legs up on the chair and ignored it. Finally after trying everything to get my attention and failing, he walked away.
Yes!!! Finally some alone time with God! But, as the cat was walking away I felt like God was saying…” you asked me what I am going to teach you, so listen. This morning you woke up and got cleaned. The shower wasn’t yours, but you were blessed by the generosity of your friend. The reason I am sending that cat your way is because I want you to see that you were once like that cat. Looking for love and attention. Remember the time when you were trying to gain acceptance from people who turned away from you and wanted nothing to do with you. That dirty cat just wants to be loved, but you have come to a place where you don’t want to get your hands dirty or help those who are hurting and need to be loved. Travis, I have cleansed you from your sins and made you clean! But that doesn’t mean that you can forget about where you come from and leave those who also need to be cleansed of their sinfulness. So get your hands dirty and pet the cat! They all need to experience the love of Jesus and that means stepping outside of your comfort zone.”
I just sat there with a strong conviction of realizing that Jesus walked with the dirty, the outcasts, the unloved, the tax collectors, the needy, the hurting, and all the people that society says are not worth even talking to. He was interested in saving souls and saw past circumstances and the physical appearance. He looked straight into the hearts and was willing to to get His hands dirty even though He was spotless.
I was challenged to check my perspective on how I live my life and who I talk to about the gospel by this encounter. I hope we all will do the same and realize that no matter what we see on the outside, God loves them so much that He was willing to lay down his life for all of those who will receive it. This revelation is hard to swallow but the reality is God doesn’t clean us so that we can be happy, but so that we take part in helping others become clean also to partake in the fellowship of God.
So, after all that I finally pet the cat and realized that getting my hands dirty really showed the love of Christ. Doing something I didn’t want to do was such a blessing! And after that, the cat couldn’t get enough! Just like those people you touch with the gospel, they won’t be able to get enough. When you do the hard things that God is calling you to do, you might get dirty but there are blessings when you follow His call.
Who in your life is God asking you to reach out to? Do it 🙂
